Congratulations Matthias Meschik, MSc!
Congratulations to Matthias Meschik, who successfully defended his MSc thesis on Mar 05th, 2026.
Division of Terrestrial Ecosystem Research
Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science
About TER
The Division of Terrestrial Ecosystem Research | TER at the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science | CeMESS aims to advance the fundamental understanding of how soil microorganisms and plants respond to and in turn shape their abiotic and biotic environment, and what consequences these interactions have for the functioning of the Earth’s ecosystems.
Researchers at TER address pressing environmental issues, such as the impact of climate change on ecosystem functioning and the role of soils in the global carbon cycle and in food security.
CeMESS/Maximilian Prag
News
Ancient symbiosis between plants and fungi: Important insights for sustainable agriculture
TER
Almost all plants live in close symbiosis with so-called mycorrhizal fungi – an important symbiosis for absorbing essential nutrients. In their new…
CeMESS welcomes new Scientific Advisory Board
CeMESS
The new CeMESS Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) paid its inaugural visit to the Centre. An All Hands Meeting introduced CeMESS, and over two days…
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded to Yujia Luo
CeMESS
Congratulations to Yujia Luo, who received a highly competitive Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship for her project “Tracing microbial…
Congratulations, Hélène Peter, MSc!
Congratulations to Hélène Peter, who successfully defended her MSc thesis on Dec 15th, 2025.
Her thesis on “Measuring soil Enzyme Activity in situ…
New Christian Doppler Laboratory at CeMESS
CeMESS
Research for sustainable solutions: Focus on the biodegradation of water-soluble polymers
Latest Publications at TER
Ullah, M. R., Kwatcho Kengdo, S., Peršoh, D., Tian, Y., Heinzle, J., Urbina Malo, C., Shi, C., Lueders, T., Poll, C., Wanek, W., Schindlbacher, A., & Borken, W. (2026). Long-term soil warming decreases fungal biomass and alters fungal but not bacterial communities in a temperate forest. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 216, Article 110120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2026.110120
Zhou, J., Liu, S., Jan van Groenigen, K., Mueller, C. W., Ochoa-Hueso, R., Fanin, N., Ren, Z., Zhang, Y., Ma, Y., Sun, S., Hu, J., Zhang, Y., Yahdjian, L., Wanek, W., Olesen, J. E., Kuzyakov, Y., Liu, J., & Chen, J. (2026). Contrasting responses of particulate and mineral-associated organic carbon stocks to grazing exclusion in an alpine meadow. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 400, Article 110227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2026.110227
Hansen, P. M., Zhang, Y., Guseva, K., Kaiser, C., & Francesca Cotrufo, M. (2026). Microbial community regulation of extracellular enzyme production can mediate patterns of particulate and mineral-associated organic matter accumulation in undersaturated soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 214, Article 110056. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.110056
Zhou, W., Bai, Y., Xie, Y., Wei, B., Wanek, W., Rousk, K., Noyce, G., Zhang, D., Peng, Y., & Yang, Y. (2026). Key role of moss in supplementing nitrogen for plant growth under warming in a permafrost ecosystem. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 123(8), Article e2516443123. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2516443123
Zechner, V., Tiutiunnyk, M., Riedmüller, H., & Wanek, W. (2026). Cryptic carnivores: why feline hair makes cats (Felis catus) look vegan. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 13, Article 1699291. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2025.1699291
Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science
University of Vienna
CeMESS/Maximilian Prag